Enlightened
by Tierney Beckett
Summary: AU. Companion piece/sequel to 'Alone'. On the day her marriage to Anakin Skywalker officially ends, Padme Amidala receives an unexpected and somewhat unwanted visitor. And learns a few things about herself in the conversation that ensues. R&R please.


Disclaimer: I own nothing. Woe is me.

A/N: This is AU. And is a companion piece/sequel to my oneshot story 'Alone'. You might...no, you'll _definitely _want to read that one first. Otherwise, this one might not make much sense.

A/N2: Big thanks to my beta, Almyra, who picked out a few things here and there that I needed to expand upon. I dedicate this story to her, as she was one of the main reasons I wanted to write it. She makes me like Anakin...not an easy task, I assure you...and I like the way she writes him. Hopefully, I've done at least half as well with him.

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It was raining. How very fitting. Padme was unable to bite back a scowl as she shoved another dress into her bag. Her clothes were certainly suffering from this fit of temper, although she had managed to remain calm and collected in front of her children. It was probably a good thing, however, that Obi-Wan and Bail had shown up and kidnapped the twins for a final afternoon of the sort of childish fun that could be found in the busy streets of Coruscant. She wasn't sure, but she had thought she heard Leia illicit a promise of a trip to a particularly large store containing nothing but dolls. The thought of Obi-Wan and Bail in such a place made her smile slightly and forget the horrid day she had been having so far.

Tomorrow, she and the twins would leave for Naboo. This afternoon, her marriage to Anakin Skywalker had officially ended. It had all been very civil, very straightforward, and very quick. Afterwards, she had left the courthouse as quickly as possible. Anakin had made an attempt to speak with her, but she had brushed him off, not wanting to deal with things that were left unsaid between them. It was over in her mind and she was afraid of either words of regret or accusation being exchanged. The past three months had been……tense at the best moments. She had shielded the twins as best she could, but the media frenzy had managed to leak into Luke and Leia's lives. Everything had been gently and patiently explained to them. She was proud of the way they were handling things. Although she wished sometimes that they were a bit more upset over the fact that they were not going to be living with their father anymore.

She sat on the edge of her bed wearily, running a hand through her hair and wishing once again that she was already on Naboo. Or anywhere that wasn't Coruscant, really. She'd even take Mustafar at this point. Padme smirked at the mental image of her and the twins trying to build a home on the lava planet. The former Queen and Senator of Naboo living on the last holding of the Separatists. What a bizarre idea.

Shaking her head to clear it of these strange thoughts, Padme got up and started towards the kitchen for something to drink. She had only made it halfway, however, when a knock sounded at the door. Frowning, she checked the time as she went to answer it. The twins had only been gone a little over an hour. Surely Obi-Wan and Bail hadn't been worn down, yet. Padme opened the door and felt weariness fill her as she saw who her visitor was.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you, Padme. But I really think we need to talk."

Padme stared at him, not really sure what to say. She had never dreamed that he would come to the apartment. Clearly, he was determined that they talk before she left Coruscant. Reluctantly, she opened the door a bit wider and stood aside. Anakin gave her a look she couldn't quite read before coming in.

"The twins aren't here," she said, trying to put things off as long as possible.

"I know. I saw them dragging Obi-Wan and Bail into a toy store on my way over here. I…..I'm glad they're not here. It's easier to talk to you this way."

"Would you like something to drink?" Padme inquired, determined to sidetrack him.

Anakin sighed, realizing that this would be even harder than he had thought. Alright. He would go along with it…..for now.

"I would like some tea, if that's possible," he replied. Padme threw him a questioning look, clearly confused by his choice. But she said nothing, simply turned and headed towards her original destination.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Anakin queried as he followed her into the kitchen. He already knew the answer to the question. But Padme found she was grateful for his attempt at 'small talk'. She nodded before verbalizing her response.

"Bail is going back to Alderaan tomorrow and he offered to take us. It's out of his way, of course, but he was very insistent," she didn't add that she would also be glad of her friend's company on the voyage.

"I'll come by tomorrow morning and say goodbye to the twins," he looked over at her when he didn't receive a response and grimaced at the expression on her face. "I….haven't been a good father, have I?"

That made her stop what she was doing. And it certainly meant that the small talk was coming to an end. Padme sighed inwardly as she realized that running from conversations like this one was really quite useless. Looking up at him, she was prepared to tell him a slightly comforting lie. But in his eyes, she saw quite clearly that he was speaking what he believed to be the truth, not saying it in the hopes that she would argue the point. Brown eyes met blue squarely.

"No, Anakin. You haven't."

He nodded, conceding the point in a way that surprised her.

"I do love them," he tried to assure her. Although she already knew that he did. "I just…..I guess I wasn't ready for fatherhood."

"Well, they thought otherwise," she replied, smirking slightly.

"I can't lose contact with them, Padme," his voice took on a sudden urgency and he became the recipient of a very shocked look. He misunderstood her expression and quickly continued. "They deserve better from me than what they've received. I've already failed as a husband. But I still have a chance as a father. Don't I?"

Padme's eyes filled with tears as she regarded her former husband. The man she had once pledged to spend her life with. She realized, in that moment, she was looking at the man she had always been able to see in Anakin. She saw all the best in him and was able to forget, for a moment, the pain and loneliness of the past three years. Her hand rose involuntarily and she softly stroked his cheek.

"I would never try to keep you away from Luke and Leia, Anakin. You're their father. And they deserve to know you. You're welcome anytime on Naboo. And I promise, when they're a bit older, we'll have regular visits to Coruscant."

He caught her wrist with his hand and looked down at her, his eyes full of an emotion she couldn't quite read.

"I _have_ failed as a husband, haven't I?" he asked softly.

"No more than I have as a wife."

He shook his head at that statement.

"I should've loved you better, Padme. I made promises to you that I didn't keep. You were right in denying me when we were on Naboo. But I was too selfish to see it then. All I knew was that I loved you and I wanted you to be mine," his voice crackled with sorrow and a little bit of anger. At her? At himself? Padme wasn't sure, but she was willing to bet that his anger was perhaps directed at both of them. As well it should be. After all, she certainly hadn't been an unwilling participant in their wedding.

Anakin was pacing by this point. She watched him as he moved back and forth across the kitchen floor, getting an eerie sense of déjà vu as her memories replayed a somewhat similar scene that had taken place on a Tatooine moisture farm. There was a difference here, though. Padme remembered with crystal clarity the storm of emotions that had surrounded Anakin that day. She was not Force-sensitive and even she had felt that. But now…..although she sensed his emotions…..they weren't so intense. And she certainly wasn't afraid of him as she had been then. Padme watched him as she prepared the tea, curious as to where he was going with this.

"My selfishness has ruined both our lives, Padme. Not to mention the lives of our children. I just-."

He stopped abruptly as a hand was placed firmly over his mouth. To his surprise, he saw quickly that Padme was on the edge of anger.

"_That _is as far as you need to go, Anakin. And you shouldn't have gone that far. Our marriage was not a success. That much is true. But I wouldn't trade the good times we _did_ have for anything. And I certainly wouldn't trade the twins. Would you?"

Anakin stared at her for a moment and then slowly shook his head. She nodded in satisfaction and took her hand away, turning her attention to the tea once again.

"Believing ourselves to be in love was the mistake, Anakin. But if we hadn't made that mistake, we wouldn't have Luke and Leia. To me, that makes everything worthwhile."

"Would we have our friendship?" he asked. The question brought Padme up short and she wondered how many times Anakin was going to surprise her tonight. She glanced up at him, noting the reluctance on his face as he spoke again. "Do we still have our friendship?"

And his first question had just been effectively rendered obsolete. Padme sighed and sank wearily into one of the kitchen chairs. Anakin joined her at the table, his expression a mixture of hope and fear. For a moment, he was the little boy she had first met on Tatooine. The trouble was……..she wasn't at all sure how to comfort him this time. She watched emotions play across his face for a bit, drawing her own conclusions.

"It's patently obvious to me that I am not the only one who has been engaging in serious thought these past few months," she observed, wondering at the same time if things would've been different if he had been able to talk to her like this when the Clone Wars had ended. Somehow, she felt that things still would've ended between them. Although perhaps not for the same reasons. Anakin cleared his throat.

"I've been meditating," he told her, smiling slightly when he saw her right eyebrow arch slightly. "A lot," he admitted, his expression a bit sheepish. Padme nodded in understanding, remembering how often she had watched Anakin try to meditate and get frustrated because he couldn't seem to concentrate as he should. "You haven't answered my question," he reminded her.

The slight amusement Padme had been feeling died with his statement. She didn't know how to answer. She didn't love Anakin. Not in the way she once had….or thought she had. And she was still furious with him on some points. Padme frowned. Furious? Well, perhaps not furious. In point of fact, the only source of anger she still felt towards him was his relationship with the twins. And hadn't he already apologized for that? Wasn't he determined to try to fix it? Clearly, since it was Luke and Leia who were actually hurt by that, it would take longer to truly forgive him for it. Breathing deeply, Padme took the plunge.

"I can't deny, Anakin, that my feelings toward you at this moment in time are somewhat….less than friendly. And I don't think I could ever love you as I once did. However……I think that, given time, we will have our friendship." As she spoke, she suddenly felt a flood of emotions course through her. And she spoke the truth as soon as she felt it. "We _do_ have our friendship, damaged though it may be," a smile played around her lips as she considered her next words. Putting her hand over his on the table, she squeezed it in a friendly gesture. "Many things will change when I leave Coruscant, Ani. My caring for you will not be one of them. I've spent so much energy being angry with you…..it would take much less to simply accept the fact that we are both at fault in this. And that, in spite of everything, I would miss your friendship."

He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. His eyes spoke volumes and they sat there in companionable silence, each comforting the other. For the first time in what seemed like ages to Padme, there was no undercurrent of tension or anger, no unspoken accusations. They were what they had set out to be all those years ago when Anakin had left Tatooine. Friends.

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A/N: And there you have it. Yay! I've got another one that will, hopefully, finally get me around to the part of this terrible response to a challenge that meets the Obidala requirements. Obidala FTW! Anway, I hope you enjoyed. Please review!


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